Top 10 Quality Companies To Invest In 2015

Top 10 Quality Companies To Invest In 2015: STAG Industrial Inc (STAG)

STAG Industrial, Inc., incorporated on July 21, 2010, is an integrated, full-service real estate company focused on the acquisition, ownership and management of single-tenant industrial properties throughout the United States. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned 172 properties in 31 states with approximately 29.4 million rentable square feet, consisting of 112 warehouse/distribution properties, 39 light manufacturing properties and 21 flex/office properties. As of December 31, 2012, its properties were 95.1% leased to 156 tenants, with no single tenant accounting for more than 2.7% of its total annualized rent and no single industry accounting for more than 10.7% of its total annualized rent. In January 2014, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of six buildings, consisting of two light manufacturing facilities and four warehouse and distribution facilities.

Its ability to re-lease space subject to expiring leases will impact its results of operations and is affected by economic and competitive conditions in its markets and by the desirability of its individual properties. As of December 31, 2012, it had approximately 1.4 million rentable square feet of available space in its properties. For the year ended December 31, 2012, it has achieved an 84% tenant retention rate for those tenants whose leases were scheduled to expire in 2012.Its rental expenses generally consist of utilities, real estate taxes, management fees, insurance and site repair and maintenance costs. For the majority of its tenants, its rental expenses are controlled, in part, by the triple net provisions in tenant leases. In its triple net leases, the tenant is responsible for all aspects of and costs related to the property and its operation during the lease term, including utilities, taxes, insurance and maintenance costs. Real estate investments are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortiza! tion. The cost of real estate includes the purchase price of the property and lease! hold improvements. Total revenue consists primarily of rental income from its properties, lease termination fees, tenant reimbursements for insurance, real estate taxes and certain other expenses, and asset management fees. As of December 31, 2012 and December 31 2011, there were two and three vacant properties, respectively, owned by STAG Investments III, LLC (Fund III) and not contributed to the Company in the Formation Transactions (the Option Properties).

The Company evaluates the carrying value of all tangible and intangible real estate assets held for use for possible impairment when an event or change in circumstance has occurred that indicates their carrying value may not be recoverable. STAG Investments IV, LLC and STAG GI Investments, LLC (which are certain of the Participants and are referred to as part of the STAG Contribution Group), contributed 100% of their real estate entities and operations in exchange for 7,320,610 Common Units. On April 18, 20 12, the Company entered into an agreement with affiliates of Columbus Nova Real Estate Acquisition Group, Inc. (Columbus Nova) to source sale leaseback transactions for potential acquisitions by the Company. On June 15, 2012, the Company acquired six industrial properties representing approximately 750,000 square feet in total for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $30.0 million directly from Columbus Nova. At the June 15, 2012 acquisition of these six industrial properties, the Company paid Columbus Nova an acquisition fee in the form of 15,789 Common Units. On December 22, 2011, the Company sold a vacant flex/office property located in Amesbury, MA containing approximately 78,000 net rentable square feet. On April 20, 2012, the Company sold a vacant warehouse and distribution facility located in Youngstown, OH containing 153,708 net rentable square feet. On November 30, 2012, the Company sold the Great Bend, KS building.

Advis! ors' Opin! ion:

• [By Brad Thomas]

  Other REITs mentioned: (O), (NNN), (STAG), (DCT), (EGP), (PDM), (DRE), (LRY)

  Source: Chambers Street: More Liquidity Magic On The Way In REIT-Dom

  Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Single-tenent industrial properties real estate investment trust (REIT) Stag Industrial (STAG) raised its annual dividend 5% to $1.26 per share. The first monthly payment is payable on Feb. 17 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 31.
  STAG Dividend Yield: 6.4%

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Industrial real estate investment trustSTAG Industrial (NYSE: STAG  ) yesterday announced its second-quarter dividend, the eighth consecutive quarterly payout it's made.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  Next Page

  Preferred Stocks: Stag Industrial (STAG)

  Dividend Yield: 8.1%

  Finally, we have Stag Industrial (STAG) and its 9% Series A Preferred issue. STAG preferred stock focuses on single-tenant industrial properties. The advantage here is that a well-run REIT like Stag will carefully choose its tenants, selecting companies that are recession-proof, or at least have ample liquidity to pay rents. Occupancy is at 94%, and recent earnings came in with sizable growth across the board. The preferred stock trades almost 10% above par, and thus the dividend yield is 8.1%.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-10-quality-companies-to-invest-in-2015.html

Next Round: Catching up with rye beers

Rye bread? I usually pass. But rye beer? Why not?

You're probably seeing beers with rye used in the brewing process more frequently these days at your favorite watering hole and beer retailer. But rye beers aren't new.

Back in 2002, Terrapin Beer Co., of Athens, Ga., won a Gold Medal for American Pale Ale with its Rye Pale Ale. Other breweries that dabble in rye include Firestone Walker Brewing Co. and its Wookey Jack Black IPA, Sierra Nevada (Ruthless Rye), Dogfish Head (Ryehoboth) and Samuel Adams (Revolutionary Rye Ale).

Brewers use rye as a way to add a new dimension to beer. Rye typically imparts a spicy flavor and injects other complexities. Here are some recent rye releases:

Boulevard Grainstorm Black Rye I.P.A. (750 ml. bottles and draft, boulevard.com). Kansas City, Mo.-based Boulevard Brewing Co. delivers a twist on a twist with this limited-edition brew. Black India Pale Ales, achieved with dark roasted malts, have been a style on the rise. Now brewers are tweaking black IPAs with a dose of rye.

Malted rye imparts a spicy crispness that makes Grainstorm eminently quaffable despite its 7.7% alcohol level. Its pleasantly bitter introduction is achieved with a blend of four types of hops (Amarillo, Bravo, Citra and Simcoe). Make sure to take a look at the label, an American folk artsy design that mashes up the beer's ingredients and the USA TODAY weather map.

Green Flash Road Warrior (12 oz. and 22 oz. bottles and draft, greenflashbrew.com). For a bit more bitterness and a bit more booze, try this seasonal Imperial IPA from San Diego's Green Flash Brewing Co.

Road Warrior pours like a reddish ale with an upfront piney aroma. Delicate and clean, the ale drinks like a beer much below its 9% ABV.

Green Flash created the beer as a tribute to its road-tested sales team, and as an alternative to summer's lawnmower beers — as with the Grainstorm, rye adds to the refreshment factor.

The Bruery Smoking Wood (22 oz. bottles, www.bruery.com). This Los ! Angeles area brewery — it's in Placentia, Calif. — takes rye beer to another level by aging a rye porter in rye whiskey barrels.

The beer pours out dark as oil, topped with a small layer of milk chocolate foam. From the outset, Smoking Wood exudes a sweet, complex flavor — and make no mistake — a boozy kick. It clocks in at 10% ABV.

In addition to vanilla expressions, a woody smokiness is evident from beachwood- and cherrywood-smoked malt. If you've already tried lower-alcohol rye beers, like Stone Brewing Co.'s Spröcketbier, a rye Kolsch, this is a nice way to take your rye research to the next level.

Top 10 Promising Stocks To Buy Right Now

Next Round takes a regular look at new and recently released craft beers. If there's one on your radar, or if you have suggestions or questions, contact Mike Snider via e-mail. And follow Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.

Top Undervalued Stocks To Buy For 2015

Top Undervalued Stocks To Buy For 2015: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Maxfield]

  If you're anything like me, two things went through your head when you saw this. First, you regret that you missed out on the investment opportunity. Since the end of 2009, shares in all three of these companies, led by Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) , have simply trounced the broader market. Even the worst performer of the bunch, Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO  ) , beat it by nearly a factor of two.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Deutsche Bank is making a change in its coverage of dollar store themes on Monday: Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was raised to Buy from Hold and Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO)was downgraded to Hold from Buy, but the price target was raised to $74 from $70.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-undervalued-stocks-to-buy-for-2015.html

3 Cash-Is-King Dividend Stocks

Popular Posts: 5 Stocks to Sell in June5 Midcap Stocks to Buy for Growth AND StabilityThe Top 10 S&P 500 Dividend Stocks for March Recent Posts: Best Interest Rates in May: Savings, CDs and Mortgages 3 Cash-Is-King Dividend Stocks Abercrombie & Fitch Somehow Widens Loss View All Posts

Apart from bankruptcy, nothing has the ability to hammer dividend stocks like a dividend cut or suspension. Indeed, the entire point of investing in dividend stocks is to find companies that pay reliable and rising dividends over long periods of time.

Revenue can ebb and flow, earnings can come and go, but as long as dividend stocks are buttressed by a gusher of levered free cash flow, there’s little reason to worry that the dividend spigot will be turned off.

Levered free cash flow (LFCF) is too often overlooked as a measure of health in dividend stocks, but it’s arguably the most important factor in determining whether a company will keep up its payouts. After all, levered free cash flow is what’s left after a company pays interest on debts, dividend, capital expenditures, you name it.

LFCF is also a good yardstick for finding cheap stocks. Price-to-earnings (P/E) is more popular, sure, but price-to-levered free cash (P/LFCF) flow can be a better metric. Dividend stocks can dive if a company posts a net loss, screwing up the P/E, but if the company has billions in cash sloshing around, that dividend (now with a higher yield) is abundantly safe.

We decided to scour the market for cheap, high-dividend stocks generating unusually high levered free cash. These dividend stocks had to be in the Russell 1000, have a yield of at least 5% and a P/LFCF multiple of less than 15.

Based on those criteria, here are three great dividend stocks where cash is king, as they have big piles of cash leftover after paying interest and everything else you can think of:

Next Page

Mack-Cali Realty (CLI)

CLI Price/LFCF: 6.5
CLI Dividend Yield: 5.5%

Real estate investment trusts are dividend stocks that tend to have firehoses of levered free cash. That’s because once a month, every month, the rent checks and get paid and those payments pile up.

A number of REITs look like big-cash dividend stocks, but Mack-Cali Realty (CLI) stands out because of its superior dividend yield relative to its cash flow. CLI pays a dividend yielding 5.5% even as its valuation of price-to-levered free cash flow is in the single digits.

The brutal cold winter in the Northeast hurt Mack-Cali’s results, as expenses piled up for maintaining its portfolio of apartments. Shares in CLI are up just 1% so far this year to lag the broader market.

But that dividend probably couldn’t be safer thanks to the levered free cash CLI generates. During the past 12 months, CLI pumped out nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in free cash — after paying interest expense, capex and $135 million in dividends, according to S&P Capital IQ. With more than twice as much free cash as dividend payments, CLI is not only safe, but looks undervalued too.

Next Page

AT&T (T)

T Price/LFCF: 12.7
T Dividend Yield: 5.2%

Telecommunications stocks generate tremendous cash flow because (most) people pay their phone bills every month. Indeed, the deal in so much cash that there’s still plenty leftover even after gargantuan expenses to build and maintain networks.

With a yield of 5.2%, AT&T (T) is routinely one of the top 10 dividend stocks is in the S&P 500, but given how much free cash the telco generates, it could probably be No. 1 if it wanted to. T had $22 billion in capex over the last 12 months, it paid more than $9 billion to pay off debt and shelled out nearly $10 billion in dividends. Interesting,

And yet, after all that, T still generated more than $14 billion in levered free cash flow in the past year. Not only can investors can feel comfortable with T’s ability to swallow DirecTV (DTV), but the numbers also suggest that T can easily juice its dividend.

T shares are breakeven so far in 2014, but look like they could rise on multiple expansion given that the P/LFCF and P/E both look cheap at about 12. No, slow growth means AT&T won’t get a really big multiple, but the cash flow suggests solid future earnings growth and higher dividends too, and that should buoy T stock.

Next Page

R.R. Donnelley (RRD)

RRD Price/LFCF: 9.4
RRD Dividend Yield: 6.7%

It’s hard to find a more boring company than R.R. Donnelley (RRD). It both prints and creates custom content (e.g., annual reports) for private and public companies.

In other words, RRD could be thought of as a hot tech stock … if we were still in the Middle Ages.

So it’s somewhat of a surprise that RRD also prints cash. Levered free cash flow came to more than a half-billion dollars over the trailing 12 months. Furthermore, because RRD has comparatively few shares outstanding, it only paid $189 million in dividends last year — even with a whopping yield of 6.7%.

R.R. Donnelley also looks extremely cheap. RRD trades at a little more than 9 P/LFCF. The forward P/E is likewise 9. That’s a discount of more than 40% compared to the broader market.  And RRD has a growth trajectory that lags the S&P 500 by only about a percentage point.

Of course part of the reason for the high dividend is a slumping share price. (That’s always something to consider when hunting for dividend stocks.) After a stunning rise in 2013, RRD has lost 23% so far this year, wiping out any gains from the dividend. That’s partly due to weak top-line growth. But the levered free cash flow multiple suggests that shares are beaten down more than enough.

Furthermore, RRD’s strategy hangs on making acquisitions and it certainly generates enough free cash to keep doing deals.

As of this writing, Dan Burrows did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Baron Funds Comments on MasterCard

Top 10 Semiconductor Companies To Buy Right Now

After rising 70% last year, shares of credit card company MasterCard, Inc. fell 11% in the first quarter on lower than expected fourth quarter earnings and forward guidance, due to higher incentive payments to card issuers and the loss of a large bank customer. In addition, a recent court decision reduced the likelihood that MasterCard would take market share from Visa in signature debit processing. We retain conviction based on high barriers to entry and a long runway for growth in electronic payments, particularly outside the U.S., where MasterCard generates most of its revenue.

From Baron Funds' first quarter 2014 commentary.

Also check out: Ron Baron Undervalued Stocks Ron Baron Top Growth Companies Ron Baron High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Ron Baron keeps buying

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Top 5 Rising Companies To Own For 2015

Top 5 Rising Companies To Own For 2015: Entergy Corp (ETR)

Entergy Corporation (Entergy), incorporated on August 19, 1992, is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy operates through two business segments: Utility and Entergy Wholesale Commodities. The Utility business segment includes the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric power in portions of Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana, including the City of New Orleans; and operates a small natural gas distribution business. The Entergy Wholesale Commodities business segment includes the ownership and operation of six nuclear power plants located in the northern United States and the sale of the electric po wer produced by those plants to wholesale customers.

Utility

The Utility business segment includes six wholly-owned retail electric utility subsidiaries: Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, and Entergy Texas. These companies generate, transmit, distribute and sell electric power to retail and wholesale customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans also provide natural gas utility services to customers in and around Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and New Orleans, Louisiana, respectively. Also included in the Utility is System Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy Corporation that owns or leases 90% of Grand Gulf. System Energy sells its power and capacity from Grand Gulf at wholesale to Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, and Entergy New Orleans. The electric energy sales of the U! tility oper ating companies are subject to seasonal fluctuations, with t! he peak sales period normally occurring during the third quarter of each year. On July 30, 2012, Entergy reached a 2012 peak demand of 21,866 megawatt hour.

Entergy New Orleans and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana provide both electric power and natural gas to retail customers. During the year ended December 31, 2012, Entergy New Orleans and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana sold 8,924,256 and 6,104,341 million cubic feet, respectively, of natural gas to retail customers. In 2012, 97% of Entergy Gulf States Louisianas operating revenue was derived from the electric utility business, and only 3% from the natural gas distribution business. In 2002, Entergy New Orleans, 86% of operating revenue was derived from the electric utility business and 14% from the natural gas distribution business.

Entergy Wholesale Commodities

Entergy Wholesale Commodities includes the ownership and operation of six nuclear power plants, five of which are located in the Northeast United States, with the sixth located in Michigan, and is primarily focused on selling electric power produced by those plants to wholesale customers. Entergy Wholesale Commodities revenues are primarily derived from sales of energy and generation capacity from these plants. Entergy Wholesale Commodities also provides operations and management services, including decommissioning services, to nuclear power plants owned by other utilities in the United States. Entergy Wholesale Commodities also includes the ownership of two non-operating nuclear facilities, Big Rock Point in Michigan and Indian Point 1 in New York that were acquired when Entergy purchased the Palisades and Indian Point 2 nuclear plants, respectively. The Pilgrim and Vermont Yankee and Rhode Island plants fall under the authority of the Independent System Operator (ISO) New England and the FitzPatrick and Indian Point plants fall under the authority of the New York Independent Sy! stem Oper! ato r (NYISO). The Palisades plant falls under the authority of ! the MISO.! The primary purpose of ISO New England, NYISO, and MISO is to direct the operations of the major generation and transmission facilities in their respective regions; ensure grid reliability; administer and monitor wholesale electricity markets; and plan for their respective regions energy needs.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Richard Stavros]

  Created with YCharts

  
  In addition to beating the market since the beginning of the year, diversified energy utilities, such as MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE: MDU), Dominion Resources Inc (NYSE: D) and Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), significantly outperformed pure-play or predominantly all-electric utilities, such as Duke Energy Corp (NYSE: DUK) and Entergy Corp (NYSE: ETR), by as much as several percentage points (See Chart B).
  
  Interestingly, among top performers, there was no dominant strategy for exploiting natural gas demand, as these firms were involved in all aspects of the value chain–from exploration and production to distribution and storage. These companies have not only been benefiting from a natural gas surplus, but also from the pressing need to expand US energy infrastructure to deliver this newfound bounty to businesses and households.
  
  

  Chart B: Diversified Energy Utilities Outperformed Electric-Only Peers

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Integrated electric power producerEntergy (NYSE: ETR  ) announced yesterday its third-quarter dividend of $0.83 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2010.

• [By Carolyn Bigda]

  Steve Halpern: Now, you have also highlighted a utility stock, Entergy (ETR). Could you explain your reasons for selecting that?

  Carolyn Bigda: Yes. In today's environment, the utility stocks have some of the most attractive yields, but like a bond, they are more at risk when interest rates rise, because these types of companies don't have a lot of earnings gr! owth, and! so, as interest rates rise, you don't get as much price appreciation.

• [By Richard Stavros]

  Top Utilities
  The electric utility industry typically does well in a deflationary environment, because these firms provide relative certainty of cash flows and high dividends. Here are our favorites now:
  
  Duke Energy Corp(NYSE: DUK) is a well-run, regulated energy utility in an accommodative regulatory environment. The firm expects earnings per share (EPS) to grow 4 percent to 6 percent annually in the coming years. Management has narrowed its full-year 2013 adjusted diluted EPS guidance range to $4.25 per share to $4.45 per share. However, the company has yet to provide its 2014 earnings guidance range, or capital expenditure and cost-savings estimates for 2015 and beyond.
  
  Duke remains committed to investing in the expansion of its generational capacity in South Carolina and Florida, as well as improving the efficiency of its generational fleet in Indiana. Moreover, management hopes to improve profitability by focusing on the companys international b usiness operations and renewable energy sources.
  
  NextEra Energy Inc(NYSE: NEE) has produced one of the strongest records of earnings growth among US electric utilities, driven by its large and expanding portfolio of renewable generation at its unregulated unit, as well as load growth at regulated utility FP&L. The latters favorable regulatory environment and the highly hedged, clean and well-positioned wholesale generation portfolio establish a solid platform for continued earnings outperformance versus NextEras peers.
  
  NextEras third-quarter 2013 operating EPS of $1.43, up 13.5 percent from a year ago, beat analyst estimates. The results were due to the companys effective execution of development projects, continual customer additions, and service start-up of renewable contracted projects.
  
  Entergy Corp(NYSE: ETR) is another steady player that has delivered consistent shareholder value over the year! s. The ut! ility recently posted th ird-quarter 2013 oper

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-5-rising-companies-to-own-for-2015.html

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Buy Right Now

With shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) trading around $83, is CAT an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Caterpillar is a manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates in two segments: Machinery and Power Systems, and Financial Products. Infrastructure investment is increasing around the world, in particular, in developing countries. A global supplier of industrial equipment, like Caterpillar, is poised to see rising profits from this trend. As long as countries continue to grow and develop, Caterpillar will provide the tools essential to create this progress.

Caterpillar announced third-quarter sales and revenues of $13.423 billion, down from $16.445 billion in the third quarter of 2012. Profit per share for the third quarter of 2013 was $1.45, down from third-quarter 2012 profit per share of $2.54.”This year has proven to be difficult, with expected sales and revenues nearly $11 billion lower than last�year. That is a 17 percent decline from 2012 with about 75 percent of the drop from Resource Industries, which�is principally mining. We expect Resource Industries to be down close to 40 percent for the full year and Power�Systems��and Construction Industries��sales to each be down about 5 percent,” said Caterpillar Chairman and�Chief Executive Officer Doug Oberhelman.

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Buy Right Now: Altec Holdings SA (AXY)

Altec Holdings SA the parent company of Altec Group, is a Greece-based company engaged in the information technology and telecommunications fields. The Company's range of activities includes the manufacture, import, export, trade, distribution, leasing and support of computers and telecommunication materials, as well as the design, production, development, import, export, leasing and trading of software for computers and electronic cash registers. Its hardware products include a range of personal computers, servers and related equipment. Its software products include systems for enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, accounting, human resource management, payroll and data warehousing, insurance brokerage software and equipment for call centers. It operates a retail network under the brand Microland. The Company has established subsidiaries in Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Yesterday, small cap geothermal stock U.S. Geothermal Inc (NYSEMKT: HTM) produced a geyser of a return when it surged 26.79%, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock verses the performance of other geothermal stocks like small cap Ormat Technologies, Inc (NYSE: ORA) and mid cap Calpine Corporation (NYSE: CPN).�First of all, I should mention there are some other geothermal stocks out there like Alterra Power Corp (CVE: AXY) and Ram Power Corp (TSE: RPG) who have their primary listing on Canadian exchanges with secondary ones on the OTC���meaning they may not be a good deal for American investors or easy to invest in. Second, U.S. Geothermal Inc itself is a good geothermal proxy as its�focused on developing, owning, and operating clean, sustainable electric power from geothermal energy resources and its�operating geothermal power projects at Neal Hot Springs, Oregon; San Emidio, Nevada; and Raft River, Idaho plus El Ceibillo, an advanced stage, geothermal prospect located within a 24,710 acre energy rights concession area near Guatemala City, the largest city in Central America.

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Buy Right Now: Logitech international SA (LOGN)

Logitech International S.A. (Logitech) is a holding company. Logitech develops and markets hardware and software products for digital navigation, music and video entertainment, gaming, social networking, audio and video communication over the Internet, video security and home-entertainment control. Logitech operates in two segments: peripherals and video conferencing. The Company�� peripherals segment includes design, manufacturing and marketing of peripherals for personal computers (PCs) and other digital platforms. Its products for the PC include mice, trackballs, keyboards, interactive gaming controllers, multimedia speakers, headsets, webcams, and lapdesks. Logitech�� Internet communications products include webcams, headsets, video communications services, and digital video security systems for a home or small business. Its digital music products include speakers, earphones, and custom in-ear monitors. On July 6, 2010, Logitech acquired all of the assets of Paradial AS. On March 31, 2011, the Company sold its equity interest in certain 3Dconnexion subsidiaries.

3Dconnexion subsidiaries are the providers of the Company�� 3D controllers, and its intellectual property rights related to the manufacture and sale of certain 3Dconnexion products. Paradial AS provides firewall and network address translation (NAT) traversal solutions for video communications. For home entertainment systems, Logitech offers the Harmony line of advanced remote controls, Squeezebox wireless music solutions and, in the United States, a line of Logitech products for the Google TV platform. For gaming consoles, the Company offers a range of gaming controllers and microphones, as well as other accessories. Logitech�� sells its peripheral products to a network of distributors and resellers and to other equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Company�� worldwide retail network includes wholesale distributors, consumer electronics retailers, mass merchandisers, specialty electronics stores, computer and telecomm! unications stores, resellers and online merchants.

The Company�� video conferencing segment includes design, manufacturing and marketing of LifeSize video conferencing products, infrastructure and services for the enterprise, public sector and other business markets. LifeSize products include high-definition (HD) video communication endpoints, HD video conferencing systems with integrated monitors, video bridges and other infrastructure software and hardware to support large scale video deployments, and services to support these products. Logitech sells its LifeSize products and services to distributors, resellers, OEMs and direct enterprise customers. Logitech conducts its business through subsidiaries in the Americas, including North and South America; Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific, including, among other countries, China, Taiwan, Japan, India and Australia.

Pointing Devices

Logitech offers a range of computer mice, sold through retail and OEM channels. Its mice products include M215, M310 and M305 wireless mice with advanced 2.4 gigahertz wireless connection and cordless universal serial bus (USB) plug-and-forget nano-receiver; Performance Mouse MX and Anywhere Mouse MX with Logitech Darkfield Laser Tracking; Marathon Mouse 750, and Wireless Trackball M570. Logitech�� mice products also include a line of gaming mice, including the Wireless Gaming Mouse G700, with 13 precisely placed, programmable controls to perform single actions and complex macros, full-speed gaming-grade wireless, and a quick-connect charging cable. In addition, the Company sells both corded and cordless mice designed specifically for OEM customers.

Keyboards and Desktops

Logitech offers a range of corded and cordless keyboards and desktops (keyboard-and-mouse combinations). The Company�� keyboards and desktops include Wireless Solar Keyboard K750; K800 Illuminated Wireless Keyboard; The diNovo Edge keyboard; Wireless Desktop MK320, and G! 19 Keyboa! rd for Gaming.

Audio

Logitech designs and manufactures a range of multimedia speakers, including Wireless Speaker Z515, The Laptop Z305 speaker, and The S-series line of portable iPod/MP3 docks, including the Rechargeable Speaker S715i and the Portable Speaker S135i. It also designs and manufactures The Z-623 2.1 THX certified speakers, the Z-506 5.1 Speakers, and the Z-906 5.1 Surround Sound speakers. Logitech offers a portfolio of network music systems. The Squeezebox Touch, with its 4.3-inch color touch screen, connects to existing stereo system and speakers and supports sampling rates of up to 24 bits at 96 kilohertz. The Squeezebox Radio is a compact network music player and alarm that allows to connect to home network, and access Internet radio, personal music collection or subscription services.

The Ultimate Ears product line offers a range of in-ear consumer or fit earphones for portable music enthusiasts, as well as custom stage earphones for musicians and sound engineers. Its line of earphones include Ultimate Ears 100 and 200 value-priced earphones, with silicone ear cushions in a durable sweat-resistant design; Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 with triple armature speakers, and The Ultimate Ears 600 featuring single armature speakers, the Ultimate Ears 600vi, and the Ultimate Ears 700 featuring dual armature speakers. Its line of Ultimate Ears Custom Stage Earphones include Ultimate Ears In-Ear Reference Monitors co-designed with Capitol Studios for professional studio engineers and producers for use during recording, mixing and mastering original music content, the UE-18 Pro featuring a six-speaker design, the UE-7 Pro for live performance and stage use, and the UE-4 Pro featuring a dual speaker design for artists and audiophiles.

Logitech offers headsets and microphones designed for applications, such as PC voice communications, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) applications and online gaming. Its products in this category include the ClearCha! t PC Wire! less headset, the Wireless Headset H760, the USB Headset H530, the G35 Surround Sound Headset for gaming, the Wireless Gaming Headset G930, the USB Desktop Microphone, and the OCS certified Logitech B-530 USB Headset.

Video

Logitech�� webcam offerings include Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910, Logitech Webcam Pro 9000, Logitech HD Webcam C510 and Logitech TV Cam for use with Logitech Revue. Logitech�� webcams works with video messaging applications, and provides up to HD 720p video calling in Skype, Windows Live Messenger and Logitech Vid HD. The Logitech Alert digital video security system is a complete home or small business video security system, with software that provides motion alerts and a live view from an Internet-connected computer, smartphone, tablet or Google TV system, including Logitech Revue.

Gaming

Logitech offers a range of game controllers for PC gamers, including joysticks, steering wheels, gamepads, mice and keyboards, and headsets, as well as gaming products for console platforms, such as PlayStation2, PlayStation3, PSP (PlayStation Portable), Xbox, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. The Company�� gaming products include Logitech G700 Wireless Gaming Mouse; Logitech G13 advanced gameboard with a built-in LCD screen, 25 programmable keys and onboard memory; Logitech G27 Racing Wheel and Logitech G35 Surround Sound Headset.

Digital Home

The Company�� line of remotes includes Harmony One remote, Harmony 900 remote and Harmony 650. In October 2010, Logitech introduced its line of products for Google TV in the United States, including Logitech Revue and the Logitech Keyboard Controller; Logitech TV Cam and Vid HD service, and Logitech Mini Controller.

LifeSize Video Conferencing

LifeSize division offers HD video communication solutions, including HD video conferencing products, audio conference telephones, hardware infrastructure solutions, video management software, and services to support ! video and! audio communications and help users connect to any network securely and with ease. The LifeSize product line includes Passport, LifeSize Video Center, Express Series, Team Series, Room Series and LifeSize Bridge.

The Company competes with Microsoft Corporation, Plantronics, Inc., Altec Lansing LLC, Creative Labs, Inc., Bose Corporation, Sony Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics NV, Hewlett-Packard, Intec, Razer USA Ltd., Performance Designed Products, LLC (Pelican Accessories), Mad Catz Interactive, Inc., Universal Remote Control, Inc., Universal Electronics Inc., RCA, Apple Inc., Roku, Inc., Cisco, Radvision Ltd., Vidyo, Inc. and Polycom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, LOGN remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $23.25 thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 10:11AM EDT July 25, 2013).

  Logansport Financial Corp. previously reported net earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 of $462,000 or $.71 per diluted share, compared to earnings in 2012 of $427,000 or $.54 per diluted share. Year to date the company reported net earnings of $936,000 for 2013 compared to $763,000 for 2012. Diluted earnings per share for the six months ended June 30, 2013 were $1.43 compared to $.97 for the six months ended June 30, 2012. Total assets at June 30, 2013 were $165.8 million compared to total assets at December 31, 2012 of $172.9 million. Total shareholder�� equity at December 31, 2013 was $18.6 million compared to $19.0 million at June 30, 2012

Best Life Sciences Stocks To Watch For 2015: Fusion-io Inc (FIO)

Fusion-io Inc (Fusion) is a provider of datacenter solutions that accelerate databases, virtualization, cloud computing, big data, and the applications that help drive business from the smallest e-tailers to some of the largest data centers, social media leaders, and Fortune Global 500 businesses. The Company's integrated hardware and software platform enables the decentralization of data from legacy architectures and specialized hardware. The Company sells its solutions through a global direct sales force, original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, including Cisco, Dell, HP, and IBM, and other channel partners. In August 2011, the Company acquired IO Turbine, Inc.,. Effective March 18, 2013, the Company acquired ID7.

Fusion-io's ioMemory hardware is a sub-system connecting a large array of industry-standard NAND Flash memory through the Company's data-path controller and its virtual storage layer, or VSL, software to create a high capacity memory tier that natively attaches to a server's PCI-Express peripheral bus (PCIe).

The Company's portfolio of storage memory products incorporates the Company's ioMemory hardware combined with its virtual storage layer (VSL) and caching software into its family of ioDrive, ioFX, and ioCache enterprise grade products. The Company's ioDrive products work in conjunction with the Company's directCache data-tiering software, ioTurbine virtualization software, ioSphere management system, and ION Data Accelerator software. The Company's latest ioDrive, ioFX, and ioCache product families are a line of PCIe standard form-factor storage memory platforms that combine one or more ioMemory sub-systems with the Company's VSL software.

The Company's directCache software extends the Company's ioMemory based platforms and permits interoperability with traditional direct-attached, network-attached, storage area network attached, and appliance attached backend storage systems. The Company's ioTurbine virtualization software extends the Company! 's ioMemory platform and permits host-based data acceleration to specifically address the demand for high-density, high-performance server, and desktop virtualization.

ioSphere is a suite of management software purpose-built for the Company's storage memory infrastructure and designed around its application acceleration platform. ioSphere software is accessible through a graphical user interface that enables datacenter administrators to centrally configure, monitor, manage, and tune all distributed ioMemory devices throughout the datacenter. In addition, this software offers real-time, predictive, and historical reporting of ioMemory's performance and wear.

The Company's ION Data Accelerator software transforms server platforms into application acceleration appliances that share Fusion ioMemory across applications. ION Data Accelerator delivers Fusion-io performance on open server platforms with software-defined storage, or SDS, for applications such as Oracle RAC, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and SAP HANA, along with other applications where shared storage aids deployment. The Company's original equipment manufacturer�� (OEMs), including Cisco, Dell, HP, and IBM, sell branded storage memory solutions based on the Company's standard products as well as custom form-factor versions to fit specific applications.

The Company competes with EMC Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P, Texas Memory Systems, Oracle, Adaptec, Inc., LSI Corporation, Sandisk, Corp, IBM, CA, Inc, Nagios Enterprises, LLC., Hitachi Data, Huawei Technologies, Co., Intel Corp., LSI Corporation, Marvell Semiconductor, Inc., Micron Technology, Inc., OCZ Technology Group, Inc., Samsung Electronics, Inc., SanDisk, Corp., Seagate Technology, STEC, Inc., Toshiba Corp., and Western Digital Corp.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Big Earnings Movers: AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is down 1.9% at $34.62 on earnings that were good but not great. Symantec Inc. (NASDAQ: SYMC) is down 12.8% at $21.48 on lagging revenues and a weak outlook. Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) is down 24.4% at $9.81 on soft results. Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) is up 4% at $26.62 after reporting earnings this morning. Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) is down 10.4% at $9.61 on a weak outlook tied to a failing turnaround plan.

• [By Tim Beyers]

  At last week's annual conference of the National Association of Broadcasters, data storage specialist Fusion-io (NYSE: FIO  ) introduced a 1.6 terabyte version of its ioFX solid-state drive, which integrates with Hewlett-Packard's (NYSE: HPQ  ) Z class workstations for fast design and editing of visual effects.

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Buy Right Now: Violin Memory Inc (VMEM)

Violin Memory, Inc., incorporated on March 9, 2005, is pioneering a new class of flash-based storage systems that are designed to bring storage performance in-line with high-speed applications, servers and networks. The Company�� Flash Memory Arrays are specifically designed at each level of the system architecture starting with memory and optimized through the array to leverage the inherent capabilities of flash memory and meet the sustained requirements of business-critical applications, virtualized environments and Big Data solutions in enterprise data centers. The Company�� Velocity Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe), Flash Memory Cards leverage its persistent memory-based architecture in servers and are optimized for applications that require continuous access to quantities of low latency persistent memory located directly in servers.

The Company�� storage systems are based on a four-layer hardware architecture, which is integrated with its Violin Memory Operating System (vMOS), software stack to optimize the management of flash memory at each level of its system architecture. The Company�� Velocity PCIe Flash Memory Cards leverage its expertise in persistent memory-based storage and controller design, as well as its vMOS software stack, to offer a differentiated architecture in a deployable PCIe form factor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

  What: Shares of Violin Memory, (NYSE: VMEM  ) plunged 48% Friday after the high-speed data storage specialist came up well short of analysts' estimates with its first quarterly report as a public company.

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Buy Right Now: George Risk Industries Inc (RSKIA)

George Risk Industries, Inc. (GRI), incorporated on February 21, 1961, is engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of computer keyboards, push button switches, burglar alarm components and systems, pool alarms, thermostats, EZ Duct wire covers and water sensors. GRI is a diversified manufacturer of electronic components, consisting of the security industries variety of door and window contact switches, environmental products, proximity switches and custom keyboards. The Company operates in two segments: security alarm products and security alarm products GRI�� security burglar alarm products comprise approximately 84% of net revenues and are sold through distributors and alarm dealers/installers. These products are used for residential, commercial, industrial and government installations. Its products include security products/ magnetic reed switches, data entry peripherals, pushbutton switches, custom engraved keycaps and proximity sensors.

The security segment has approximately 3,000 customers. One of the distributors, ADI accounts for approximately 40% of the Company's sales of these products. The keyboard segment has approximately 800 customers. Keyboard products are sold to original equipment manufacturers to their specifications and to distributors of off-the-shelf keyboards of proprietary design. GRI owns and operates its main manufacturing plant and offices in Kimball, Nebraska with a satellite plant 40 miles away in Gering, Nebraska.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] things I said was that I knew George Risk's materials cost was higher than some competitors' selling price. The fact that any company could survive under conditions like that immediately suggested that dollars paid for the product was not the key concern for this product.

  Perceived costs had to involve other concerns like customization, shipping speed, reliability, etc. Because it was a low cost product going into a higher cost product going into very high cost projects it seemed likely there was the opportunity to raise prices if needed. And that's what they ended up doing. The important clue for me in that investigation was the severe cost disadvantage George Risk had. You couldn�� compete at such a cost disadvantage unless price was less important than I initially thought.

  I think you will find that most of these insights are not available in the financial statements. They come from reading the 10-Ks of all companies in the industry, reading articles about the companies, listening to all conference call transcripts, etc.

  For example, there is not much in the financial statements of Carnival (CCL) that explains how the cruise business really works. But all of the companies in the industry (CCL, RCL and NCL) freely discuss the economics of their business in great detail. They break out costs before and after fuel. They give you per-passenger prices of how much newly built ships cost. They give you lots and lots of details. They explain how they price their product (the way airlines do) and so on. There is an extreme level of detailed explanation of the business in the various conference calls, 10-Ks, etc.

  A great source for this information is going back to the time the company went public or at least finding the S-1 of a competitor. When a company goes public it often gives much more detail into product economics, etc., than it will later on when it reports annual results.

  That is also a good place to learn about market share, com

• [By Geoff Gannon] or even just above book value. It's a darn good business so I'm getting high quality assets and earnings power. That gets less clear when looking at lower quality businesses.

  For example:

  Solitron (SODI) sells at 74% of NCAV, has decent z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 5.3% and an ROA of 12%.

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  So, I think of simple industries as food, entertainment, etc. And anything where logistics provide a competitive advantage. I mentioned a company I own shares of ��George Risk Industries (RSKIA) ��before. Its advantage is the ability to deliver a cheap product on time. They can't produce the product for less than the competition. If the purchase price was huge relative to what the end customer was purchasing as part of the same activity (the end customer is construction in this case) price competition would be important. Instead, delivery is important.

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  Take George Risk (RSKIA). All of their competitors moved overseas. They��e still in Nebraska. Management doesn�� really claim they can either be better or cheaper than their competitors. They know they can�� be cheaper. And as far as better ��this isn�� dark chocolate they��e selling. Beyond customization, timeliness, and reliability ��I�� not sure the idea of ��uality��has much meaning in that business. It�� either frustration-free or it�� not. The two things George Risk can be are timely and customized. Both of those things are easier to be ��for American customers ��if you are manufacturing in the U.S.

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Buy Right Now: Western Digital Corp (WDC)

Western Digital Corporation (WD) is a provider of solutions for the collection, storage, management, protection and use of digital content, including audio and video. Its principal products are hard drives, which are devices that use one or more rotating magnetic disks (magnetic media) to store and allow access to data. Its hard drives are used in desktop and notebook computers, corporate and cloud computing data centers, home entertainment equipment and stand-alone consumer storage devices. In addition to hard drives, its other products include solid-state drives and home entertainment and networking products. The Company operates as the parent company of its hard drive business, Western Digital Technologies, Inc. Effective March 8, 2012, the Company acquired Viviti Technologies Ltd. In May 2012, the Company completed the divestiture of certain 3.5-inch hard drive assets to Toshiba Corporation. As part of its deal with Toshiba, WD also completed its purchase of Toshiba Storage Device (Thailand) Company Limited (TSDT), which manufactured hard drives.

The Company offers a line of storage devices. Its hard drives include 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch form factors, capacities ranging from 80 gigabytes to three terabytes, nominal rotation speeds up to 10,000 revolutions per minute, and interfaces, such as Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) and Serial Attached SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) (SAS). In addition, the Company offers a family of hard drives specifically designed to consume less power than standard drives, utilizing its WD GreenPower Technology. Its solid-state drives include 2.5-inch and Compact Flash form factors, capacities ranging from 1 gigabyte to 256 gigabytes, and interfaces, such as SATA and PATA.

Client Compute Storage Products

Client compute consists of hard drives and solid-state drives for desktop and mobile personal computers (PC��). During the fiscal year ended July 1, 2011 (fiscal 2011), it shipped 151 million hard drive clie! nt compute unit. Its client compute storage products include WD Caviar, WD Scorpio and WD Silicon Edge. WD Caviar family of hard drives is designed for use in desktop PCs. WD Scorpio family of hard drives is designed for use in mobile PCs. WD Silicon Edge family of solid-state drives is designed for both read-intensive client/consumer applications and write-intensive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) applications.

Client Non-Compute Storage Products

Client non-compute consists of branded products and consumer electronics products. Its hard drive client non-compute unit shipments were 46 million, during fiscal 2011.

Branded Products

Branded products consists of hard drives embedded into WD-branded external storage appliances with capacities ranging from 250 gigabytes to 8 terabytes and using interfaces, such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0, USB 3.0, external SATA, FireWire and Ethernet network connections. Certain branded products models include software that assists customers with back up, remote access and management of digital content. Branded products also include its home entertainment and networking products. Its branded products include My Book and WD Elements Desktop family of storage appliances. My Passport and WD Elements Portable family of storage appliances include WD ShareSpace, WD TV and WD Livewire.

My Book and WD Elements Desktop family of storage appliances are designed to add external capacity to desktops and digital video recorders (DVRs), allow for the transfer and storage of videos directly from certain camcorders, and connect to networks to simplify storage for consumers. My Passport and WD Elements Portable family of storage appliances are designed for external portability weighing less than one-half of a pound and allow for the transfer and storage of videos directly from certain camcorders. WD ShareSpace is a network-attached storage system designed for home office or small office applications. WD TV m! edia play! ers connect to a user�� television or home theater system and play digital movies, music and photos from an integrated hard drive, network hard drives, any of its WD-branded external hard drives, other USB mass storage devices or content services accessed over the Internet. WD Livewire, which enables consumers to use their existing electrical outlets to extend Internet connections throughout the home.

Consumer Electronics Products

WD AV family of hard drives is designed for use in products, such as DVRs and audio and video applications. WD AV drives deliver the characteristics CE manufacturers.

Enterprise Storage Products

Enterprise consists of hard drives for traditional enterprise and nearline storage applications, as well as solid-state drives for embedded applications. Its hard drive enterprise unit shipments were 10 million, for fiscal 2011. Its enterprise storage products include WD S25 hard drive, WD VelociRaptor, WD RE and WD SiliconDrive. WD S25 hard drive is designed for mission-critical enterprise server and storage applications, such as data centers and data arrays. WD VelociRaptor hard drive is designed for enterprise server and storage applications. This hard drive is also used in the high-end desktop PC market for applications including gaming, servers and advanced computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) systems. WD RE family of hard drives is designed for nearline storage enterprise applications. WD SiliconDrive family of solid-state drives features fast read/write speeds in high capacities and is designed for embedded system OEM applications.

The Company competes with Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, Intel Corporation, Micron Technology, Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Seagate Technology, STEC, Inc. and Toshiba Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Piyush Arora]

  An indifferent peer
  Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC  ) , however, seems to be unaffected by this 3D NAND mania. Though the memory giant manufactures planar NAND drives, it has no intention of venturing into the 3D NAND space -- at least not yet. The company is betting on helium-filled hard drives to capture the enterprise-scale storage industry.�

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Fusion-io (NYSE: FIO  ) will release its quarterly report on Wednesday, and investors are nervous about the expected plunge in revenue that they expect to result in the data-storage specialist's year-ago profit turning into a loss. Yet even in the face of much larger competitors EMC (NYSE: EMC  ) and Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC  ) , many still hold out hope that Fusion-io earnings will eventually recover and help the share price gain back some of its long-term losses.

• [By Daniela Pylypczak]

  Western Digital (WDC) announced on Wednesday that its chief financial officer, Wolfgange Nickl, is resigning.

  Nickl’s resignation from WDC will be effective November 17, 2013, when he becomes the new CFO at ASML Holding N.V. in the Netherlands. Nickl has served as CFO at Western Digital since August of 2010; prior to that, he served in several other positions within WDC’s finance and operations divisions. Western Digital has stated that it is in the process of searching for a new CFO.

  Western Digital shares traded 1.15% higher during Wednesday’s session. Year-to-date, the stock is up 48.90%.

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap storage stock Dot Hill Systems Corp (NASDAQ: HILL) is up 193.4% since the start of the year for a much better performance than its larger cap peers Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ: WDC) and SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), which are 55.5% and 35.3%, respectively, since the start of the year. So why has this relatively unknown small cap storage stock been a better performer than its better known storage stock peers?

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Buy Right Now: Imation Corp (IMN)

Imation Corp. (Imation) is a global scalable storage and data security company. The Company�� portfolio includes tiered storage and security offerings for business and products designed to manage audio and video information in the home. The Company�� global brand portfolio includes the Imation brand, the Memorex brand, the XtremeMac and MXI Security brands. Imation is also the exclusive licensee of the TDK Life on Record brand. Its three product categories include traditional storage, secure and scalable storage, and audio and video information. It operates in four geographic segments: Americas, Europe, North Asia and South Asia. On February 28, 2011, it acquired all of the assets of Encryptx Corporation. On June 4, 2011, it acquired the assets of MXI Security, from Memory Experts International Inc. On October 4, 2011 it acquired the secure data storage hardware assets of IronKey Systems Inc. In December 2011, it acquired the data deduplication technology from Nine Technology.

The Americas segment includes North America, Central America and South America. The Europe segment includes Europe and parts of Africa. North Asia segment includes Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan. The South Asia segment includes Australia, Singapore, India, the Middle East and parts of Africa.

Imation brand products include magnetic tape media, recordable compact discs (CDs), digital versatile Discs (DVDs) and Blu-ray discs, flash products and hard disk drives. The Imation brand includes the DataGuard Data Protection Appliances, InfiniVault Storage appliances and removable disk technology (RDX) removable hard disk storage systems. Imation Defender products include secure storage flash drives and external hard drives. Imation brand products are sold throughout the worldwide and target the commercial user and individual consumer. Imation Defender products include secure storage flash drives and external hard drives. TDK Life on Record brand products include recordable CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray d! iscs, flash drives, tape cartridges, headphones and computer speakers which are sold to commercial customers and individual consumers. TDK Life on Record brand products is sold throughout the world.

XtremeMac brand products include cases, chargers and audio solutions to protect, power and play Apple iPad, iPod, iPhone and other devices. XtremeMac products are developed for Apple enthusiasts and are available worldwide. Its MXI Security brand includes secure storage flash drives and external hard drives, as well as software solutions to help manage portable security devices on the network.

Traditional Storage

The Company�� optical media products consist of CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray recordable media. It sells Blu-ray discs, which are used primarily for recording high-definition video content. Its recordable optical media products are sold through a variety of retail and commercial distribution channels and sourced from manufacturers primarily in Taiwan and India. Optical storage capacities range from 650 megabyte CD-R (recordable) and CD-RW (rewritable) optical discs to 9.4 gigabyte double-sided DVD optical discs and Blu-ray discs with 25 gigabyte to 100 gigabyte of capacity. Its optical media is sold throughout the world under brands it owns or controls, including Imation, Memorex and TDK Life on Record and under a distribution agreement for the Hewlett Packard brand.

The Company�� magnetic tape media products are used for back-up, business and operational continuity planning, disaster recovery, near-line data storage and retrieval and for mass and archival storage. Other traditional storage products include primarily optical drives and audio and video tape media.

Secure and Scalable Storage

Secure storage products and software include universal serial bus (USB) flash drives and external hard drives designed to meet the security standards to protect data at rest with Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) validation, pa! ssword an! d biometric authentication, including biometric USB drives, encrypted and biometric hard disk drives, secure portable desktop solutions and software solutions. It also sells standard USB flash drives and external hard disk drives throughout the world under its Imation, Memorex and TDK Life on Record brands. It sources these products from manufacturers primarily in Asia and the United States and sell them through a variety of retail and commercial distribution channels around the world. Scalable storage products include data protection appliances, such as DataGuard network attached storage backup appliances and InfiniVault active archive appliances.

Audio and Video Information

The Company�� audio and video information products include Apple iPad, iPod and iPhone accessories, headphones, CD players, alarm clocks, portable boom boxes, moving picture experts group layer-3 audio (MP3) players, and speakers sold under the Memorex, TDK Life on Record and XtremeMac brands. It designs products to meet user needs and source these products from manufacturers throughout Asia.

The Company competes with Maxell, JVC, Sony, Verbatim, Fuji, HP, SanDisk, Lexar, PNY and Kingston.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] g>4. Tuesday Morning (TUES)
  5. Pacific Biosciences (PACB)
  6. Maxygen (MAXY)
  7. Westell (WSTL)
  8. Volt Information Sciences (VISI)
  9. Yasheng Group (YHGG)

  I don�� love that list. I like the 14 past picks in the Ben Graham Net-Net Newsletter�� model portfolio much better. The newsletter only owns 1 of those 9 net-nets. Remember, we have 9 net-nets out of the 14 picked for the newsletter that are trading below where we picked them. So, obviously I like those 9 net-nets a lot better than these 9 net-nets.

  Like I said, I wouldn�� encourage you to buy those nine net-nets shown here ��even if you��e looking to put a lot of money into net-nets. Instead you should look at your favorite net-nets ��or the net-nets in the Ben Graham: Net-Net Newsletter ��and use them as a buy list you are constantly placing orders from month after month.

  Building a diversified collection of net-net through many months of purchasing is a better way to invest a lot of money in net-nets than trying to focus on the biggest net-nets.

  Read Geoff�� Other Articles
  Ask Geoff a Question
  Check out the Buffe

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Buy Right Now: Diebold Inc (DBD)

Diebold, Incorporated, incorporated in August 1876, is engaged in providing integrated self-service delivery and security systems and services to the financial, commercial, government and retail markets. Sales of systems and equipment are made directly to customers by the Company�� sales personnel, manufacturers��representatives and distributors globally. The sales and support organizations work closely with customers and their consultants to analyze and fulfill the customers��needs. The Company has two lines of business: Self-Service Solutions and Security Solutions. The Company�� segments are consisted of two sales channels: Diebold North America (DNA) and Diebold International (DI). In September 2012, it acquired GAS Tecnologia (GAS).

The DNA segment sells and services financial and retail systems in the United States and Canada. The DI segment sells and services financial and retail systems over the remainder of the globe through wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and independent distributors in countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and in the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan and Korea.

Self-Service Solutions

The Company offers an integrated line of self-service technologies and services, including comprehensive automated teller machine (ATM) outsourcing, ATM security, deposit and payment terminals and software. The Company is a global supplier of ATMs and related services. The Company offers a range of self-service solutions. Self-service products include a range of ATMs and teller automation, including deposit automation technology, such as check-cashing machines, bulk cash recyclers and bulk check deposit. The Company offers software solutions consisting of multiple applications, which process events and transactions. These solutions are delivered on the appropriate platform. From analysis and consulting to monitoring and repair, the Company provides value and support to its customers every step of the way. ! Services include installation and ongoing maintenance of its products, OpteView remote services, branch transformation and distribution channel consulting. Outsourced and managed services include remote monitoring, troubleshooting for self-service customers, transaction processing, currency management, maintenance services and full support through person to person or online communication.

Security Solutions

The Company provides its customers with the technological advances to protect their assets. The Company provides physical and electronic security systems, as well as facility transaction products, which integrate security, software and assisted-service transactions, providing total security systems solutions to financial, retail, commercial and government markets. The Company provides security solutions and facility products, including in-store bank branches, pneumatic tube systems for drive-up lanes, vaults, safes, depositories, bullet-resistive items and undercounter equipment. The Company provides a range of electronic security products, including digital surveillance, access control systems, biometric technologies, alarms and remote monitoring and diagnostics. The Company provides security monitoring solutions, including fire, managed access control, energy management, remote video management and storage, as well as logical security.

Integrated Solutions

The Company provides end-to-end outsourcing solutions with a single point of contact for customer�� self-service channel. Its solution includes hardware, software, services or a combination of all three components. The Company provides value to its customers by offering a range of integrated services and support. The Company�� service organization provides analysis and planning of new systems, systems integration, architectural engineering, consulting and project management, which encompass all facets of a financial self-service implementation. The Company also provides design, products, ser! vice, ins! tallation, project management and monitoring of electronic security products to financial, government, retail and commercial customers.

Election Systems

The Company is a provider of voting equipment and related products and services in Brazil. The Company provides elections equipment, networking, tabulation and diagnostic software development, training, support and maintenance.

The Company competes with NCR Corporation, Wincor-Nixdorf, Grg Equipment Co., Nautilus Hyosung, Itautec and Perto.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By The Part-time Investor]

  The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:

  Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)

  Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 through 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.

• [By Rich Smith]

  North Canton, Ohio-based Diebold (NYSE: DBD  ) has a new CEO.

  On Thursday, the manufacturer of "ATM" machines announced it has named Andy W. Mattes as the company's new president and chief executive officer. Mattes was chosen after a four-month search, and plucked from a position as senior vice president for global strategic partnerships at flash memory maker Violin Memory. He is keeping an advisory role at Violin, even as he takes over the top job at Diebold.

• [By Insider Monkey]

  Security and services company Diebold (DBD) is simply a dividend beast. It has raised dividends in 60 consecutive years and currently offers a yield of 3.8%. Over the past three months, two insiders, CEO Andreas Mattes and VP John Kristoff, have bought Diebold stock. Mattes currently owns about $824K worth of the stock while Kristoff's position is a bit smaller, and in the entire year of 2013, Board members Rajesh Soin and Henry Wallace have also initiated purchases here.

• [By Mark Morelli]

  How will the potential disruption impact business and affect investors? Should the executives at ATM manufacturers such as Diebold (NYSE: DBD  ) �be worried? Credit�and debit card processors like MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) and Visa (NYSE: V  ) �are already benefiting from the trend to a cashless society. Could things get even better?

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Buy Right Now: Onyx Service & Solutions Inc (ONYX)

Onyx Service & Solutions, Inc., incorporated on November 25, 2009, focuses on energy solutions. The Company is a solar products manufacturer and supplier. Utilizing Polycrystalline silicon, with 72 cells in series, it provides 240 watt, 245 watt, 250 watt, 255 watt, 260 watt, 265 watt, 270 watt, 275 watt and 280 watt configurations. Its 72 cell panel size is 1955 x 992 x 50 millimeters. It also provides panels, which utilize 54 cells in series for 200 watt, 205 watt, 210 watt and 215 watt configurations. The Company is also a provider of both privately-owned and company-owned automatic teller machines (ATM��), in Onondaga County in upstate New York. The Company receives revenues from the collection of the surcharge revenues and inter-exchange revenues. As of July 31, 2011, it owned three ATMs and manages 19 ATMS throughout upstate New York. On August 22, 2011, the Company acquired Southern Geo Power Corp. (SGPC).

The Company�� 54 cell panel size is 1482 x 992 x 50 millimeters. ONYX/Optimum Solar silicon ingots are provided in both Monocrystalline and Polycrystalline versions. Its ingots are P type with Boron dopant. ONYX/Optimum solar silicon wafers are Polycrystalline solar cell materials. Its wafers are provided in the 156 x 156 millimeter size with a thickness of 220 micrometer/ 220 micrometer +/- 40 micrometer. ONYX/Optimum Solar cells are crystalline materials. It offers two models of solar cells, its Mono five inches (R150) 125S and its Mono five inches (R165) 125SL. Its R150 125S delivers 10 different levels of efficiency and its R165 125SL delivers 11 different levels of efficiency. ONYX Solar Air Conditioning Units offer thermal solar, as well as photovoltaic alternate current (AC) technology solutions. ONYX Solar Street Lights employed for both surface road and elevated highway use, in single or multiple unit setups. Its solar street lights are replenished within the sunlit hours of the day, enabling sustained performance throughout the night.

ONYX Solar Desalin! ization Systems are driven by means of photovoltaic panels, making use of pressure pumps, which force sea water across a membrane filtration system. ONYX/Optimum Solar 300 watt grid-tied micro photovoltaic inverter model OSI-300 is designed for superior installation, functionality and field maintenance. ONYX Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Glass is able to supply power to any given location with access to sunlight. ONYX Solar Well-Water Pump Systems are available in four energy options for use in a range of functions. Its solar well water pump systems were developed for virtual maintenance-free operation, rendering these units as solution for usage throughout isolated regions, including those without an electricity infrastructure readily available. ONYX Solar�� Vertical Vane Wind Turbines thrive on their ability to deliver energy from the smallest of application sites with the most stringent requirements. Each unit is able to deliver six kilowatts of power and may be used in multi-unit configurations. Onyx Solar�� Attic Fans operate within attic room setup, delivering needed aid in overall temperature regulation of the entire home or industrial/commercial building. Each fan supplies a steady exchange rate of 1600 cubic feet per minute.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) is a company doing the acquiring. The company recently completed a $10.4 billion purchase of Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONYX) to add its cancer drug Kyprolis to its already sprawling portfolio. UBS has a $124 price target on the stock. The consensus target is at $123. Investors are paid a 1.7% dividend.

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Buy Right Now: Timios National Corp (HOMS)

Timios National Corporation, formerly Homeland Security Capital Corporation, incorporated on August 12, 1997, provides radiological, nuclear, environmental, disaster relief and electronic security solutions to government and commercial customers. The Company is engaged in the strategic acquisition, operation, development and consolidation of companies operating in the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive, (CBRNE), incident response and security marketplaces within the homeland security industry. It is building consolidated enterprises (platform companies) through the acquisition and integration of businesses in the homeland security industry, particularly businesses focused on CBRNE incident response. In August 2011, the Company sold its Nexus Technologies Group. In October 2011, the Company sold its Safety and Ecology Holding Corporation subsidiary to Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. In May 2012, the Company announced the acquisition by its subsidiary Timios, Inc. of Glenn County Title Company. In June 2013, Timios National Corp announced that it has completed the purchase of Glenn County Title Company (GCTC). In September 2013, Timios National Corp announced that it had executed a purchase agreement for the assets of Adobe Title, LLC.

The Company offers a range of management and operational services to each of its subsidiaries through a team of dedicated professionals. Its subsidiaries compensate its holding company for such services. Its core services include environmental remediation and restoration, regulatory compliance, facilities management, facility deactivation, decommissioning and demolition, emergency response, design and construction services and security integration to the United States government agencies, such as the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Defense (DoD), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United states Army Corps of Engineers and the National Aeronautics and Space ! Administration (NASA). It conducts its operations through Safety & Ecology Holdings Corporation (Safety), its wholly owned subsidiary; Nexus Technologies Group, Inc. (Nexus), its 93% owned subsidiary, and Polimatrix, Inc. (PMX), its joint venture. Safety is an international provider of environmental, nuclear and radiological infrastructure remediation, disaster relief solutions and advanced construction services. Nexus designs, develops and installs integrated security systems for government and commercial clients. PMX markets, sells and distributes radiological detection equipment.

Safety & Ecology Holdings Corporation

Safety is a provider of global environmental, hazardous and radiological infrastructure remediation, upgrades and nuclear services in the United States and the United Kingdom. Safety�� main business areas and service offerings include decommissioning and remediation environmental and remedial consultancy services; environmental and consultancy services; nuclear energy design, build, refurbishment and operational support services, and instrumentation and measurement technologies. Safety offers a range of services that include characterization, decontamination, decommissioning of facilities, soil and groundwater remediation, infrastructure reduction and demolition, site preparation, excavation, and remedial system construction; underground and overhead utility installation; electrical and mechanical installation; security fencing and device installation and upgrades; building renovation; piping; roadways, parking lots, and drainage system construction/repair, and landfill remediation and capping.

Safety engages in facility deactivation, demolition and closure solutions, including project investigation; radiological pre-engineering; demolition planning; removing above ground structures and structural components; storing, testing, certifying, processing and shipping nuclear waste, and abatement of hazardous materials. Safety focuses its service offe! ring on t! he application and integration of health physics, industrial hygiene, hazardous material consultancy and safety and health. In addition, Safety couples its technology with its instrumentation offering, on-site radiological laboratory capabilities and mobile radiological materials license to provide radiological services and consultation. Safety provides integrated services to the nuclear energy industry. Safety provides specialized services to a customer base, including government agencies, commercial customers and major engineering and construction companies around the world that are focused in the nuclear new plant deployment initiative, facility operation, decommissioning and refurbishment. The elements of Safety�� technology offering are instrumentation services and instrumentation technology, both of which are targeted to field investigations, characterizations of contaminants and clean-up and material management and disposal solutions.

The Company competes with Stoller, Cabrera, Portage, LATA Northwind, Demco, Eagle, Pro2Serv, PMTech, Navarro, Energy Solutions, the Washington Group, Tetra Tech, Shaw Environmental and C2HM Hill.

Nexus Technologies Group, Inc.

Nexus is a mid-Atlantic security integrator for the corporate and governmental security markets that specializes in the engineering and installation of custom designed integrated electronic security solutions, including access control, alarm, closed circuit television (CCTV), video, communication, perimeter protection and bomb and metal detection security systems. Nexus provides solutions to protect people, property and assets. As a systems integrator, Nexus designs, customizes, installs, integrates and maintains closed CCTV, access control, video and communication systems for its customers. Nexus has undertaken projects in a range of markets, including financial services, corporate and commercial, healthcare, government, nuclear utility services, public transportation, airports, industrial complexes,! museums,! prisons, higher education and data centers. As a provider of custom engineered integrated security solutions, including access control, alarm/intrusion, CCTV, communication, perimeter protection and bomb and metal detection security systems, Nexus is aligned with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Nexus has focused on five sectors in which it intends to expand, both vertically and horizontally. These sectors are Financial Institutions, Infrastructure Security, Government Facilities, Education Facilities and Corporate Markets.

Financial Institutions include banks, brokerage facilities, trading facilities and foreign currency exchange centers. Infrastructure Security include nuclear power generating facilities, water processing facilities, electricity generating facilities, power transfer stations and transportation centers, which include highway, bridge, tunnel, airport, rail and port security. Government Facilities include federal, state and local government buildings and offices, domestic and foreign embassies, military installations and police and fire department operations centers. Education Facilities include grammar, high school and college buildings, dorms and campuses, satellite learning centers and daycare centers. Corporate Markets include office buildings and grounds, parking lots, garages, retail locations, warehouses and apartment and condominium complexes.

The Company competes with Henry Brothers Electronics, Inc., Diebold, Inc. and ADT.

POLIMATRIX, INC.

PMX is a total solutions provider delivering radiation and nuclear protection and detection services through several engineered portable and stationary devices. PMX�� business plan is the development and marketing of radiological detection products and services. PMX has developed a range of domestic and international marketing initiative in Washington, DC, Virginia and Illinois. These states have used the PMX detection devices for a range of detection, prevention and first respon! der activ! ities. PMX�� product line of portable detection devices are designed to detect potential threats and can be positioned along transportation routes or carried by nuclear power generating facility security personnel. It operates PMX with the assistance of Safety�� personal.

The Company competes with Thermo Scientific and Canberra.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  However, there have been no further updates since then. A quick look on both Google Finance and Yahoo! Finance reveals the latest financials date from the end of September 2012 ��meaning its investor beware.

  Timios National Corp (OTCMKTS: HOMS) Has No News Beyond Filings

  Small cap Timios National Corp is involved in the strategic acquisition, development and consolidation of real estate service businesses. Former Maryland Congressman C. Thomas McMillen, who served three consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from the 4th Congressional District of Maryland, heads the company. On Friday, Timios National Corp sank 32.28% to $1.28 for a market cap of $3.01 million plus HOMS is up 54.2% over the past year and up 1,013% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Timios National Corp (OTCMKTS: HOMS) and Lattice Inc (OTCMKTS: LTTC) surged 54.29% and 20.83%, respectively, while Unique Pizza & Subs Corp (OTCMKTS: UPZS) sank 27.27% last Friday. But today is a new trading week with the last two trading days for the year. So what will these three small caps do today, tomorrow and after New Years�� Here is a closer look:

Risk Is Everywhere and We're Closer to the End of This Market Run

Top Up And Coming Companies To Watch In Right Now

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Another day of the short hedge funds covering at the all-time highs. This is becoming rather amusing to watch.

What is even more amusing is to see the S&P 500 Trust Series ETF (SPY) volume close trading at a new 2014 low of 58.3 million shares only to see the after-hours hedge fund trading take it to 71.8 million shares. Can you say manipulation?

The DJIA closed Tuesday up 69.23 points to 16675.50 while the S&P 500 closed at 1911.91, up 11.38 points -- another new all-time high on air. The Nasdaq finished up 51.26 at 4237.07 and the Russell 2000 closed up 16.01 points at 1142.20.

The Russell 2000 index is still in Trend Bearish territory while the DJIA, S&P and Nasdaq are in Trend Bullish territory. Trend is a three-month or longer time frame. It has now become very important for me to discuss the degree of risk that is prevalent in this market.

According to my internal algorithm numbers, the large-cap sector -- stocks with a market cap of $4 billion or higher -- is signaling 32 stocks with an extreme, overbought condition versus three with an extreme oversold condition. That is a 10-1 ratio. I am speaking of stocks such as Facebook (FB), Yelp (YELP), Workday (WDAY), Tableau Software (DATA), Linkedin (LNKD), Yandex (YNDX) and Ctrip.com (CTRP). These all have an algorithm number of 99 or higher out of 100. The extreme oversold have a number of under 1. These numbers can be found at www.strategicstocktrades.com. These short hedge funds have pushed these stocks to the limit and traders and investors need to understand the risk that goes along with trying to mimic these hedge funds and buy these momentum stocks. I am neither a bull nor a bear as a trader. But I do have a risk management process that allows me to know when to buy and when to sell. It signals when stocks are extreme overbought and when they are extreme oversold. Traders need to have signals. If not, you are nothing more than a momentum chaser that buys high and sells low. Not a good recipe for success. I am here to tell you this market has a bubble-like feel to it and the PowerShares QQQTrust Series (QQQ) will be the first index to signal extreme overbought with a green open on Wednesday. Heed the signal. This market is near a downturn, and that downturn has the ability to be severe with no trading volume. A market that is at an all-time high on no volume is a market with bubble-like conditions that has been created by the Federal Reserve and its policies to inflate -- policies that are failing miserably right now. It has given us a stock market bubble with a burning currency. On Tuesday, I covered most of my short in EPAM Systems (EPAM) that I added to this morning on green, only to see it trade red this afternoon. I booked a 3% gain. I added to my Yandex (YNDX) short with a 99.99 algo number and added to AmerisourceBergen (ABC) short with a 99.99 number. At the time of publication the author was short ABC, YNDX, and EPAM. This article represents the opinion of a contributor and not necessarily that of TheStreet or its editorial staff.

Capitalize on the Offshore Drilling Recovery With National Oilwell Varco

Over the past few years, there was a boom in the offshore drilling sector. Due to this, offshore drilling companies began construction on an enormous number of offshore drilling rigs. Naturally, this also led to an enormous demand for equipment for these rigs, such as that manufactured by National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV  ) .

Of course, as many of you know, this boom ended around the end of last year, and the offshore drilling sector is currently in a slowdown; this has naturally resulted in offshore drilling contractors ordering fewer rigs from shipyards. This has in turn led to a reduction in the demand for equipment for these drilling rigs. 

This is one reason why National Oilwell Varco recently stated that it expects rig technology orders to decline this year compared to last. However, this slowdown is likely to be short term, and once the industry speeds up again these orders will likely increase. Thus, we could be seeing an opportunity to buy into the stock of an excellent company on weakness.

Causes for industry slowdown
There were a few causes for the slowdown in the offshore drilling industry. A large number of newbuild rigs entered the worldwide fleet at a time when large oil companies have been seeing constrained cash flows due to escalating costs of maintaining their current production. This resulted in oil companies demanding fewer rigs to develop their offshore oil fields just as large numbers of new rigs were entering the world's rig fleet. The supply of rigs is now greater than the demand for them, which is a stark reversal of the situation that was present over the previous few years.

Downturn likely to be short-term before returning to growth
This naturally caused offshore drilling contractors to stop purchasing as many rigs to prevent supply from getting too far ahead of demand. However, by all indications, this downturn is likely to be a short-term one. National Oilwell Varco essentially stated this in its first quarter results with its statement that all the "easy oil" has been found, so future oil production will depend heavily on unconventional plays such as ultra-deepwater fields.

The consumption of oil worldwide isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so the activities of oil companies in these areas must increase as more conventional fields steadily decline. As the oil companies steadily increase their activities in the offshore space, particularly in ultra-deepwater areas, contractors will be forced to construct more rigs. They will thus require equipment produced by National Oilwell Varco and its peers Cameron International (NYSE: CAM  ) and Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) .

Morgan Stanley and leading offshore consulting firm Rystad Energy agree with this, projecting that the demand for offshore drilling rigs will once again begin to exceed supply by 2016-2017. This will lead offshore drilling contractors to begin constructing an increasing number of drilling rigs, which should prove accretive to National Oilwell Varco's forward growth.

Source: Morgan Stanley, Rystad Energy, Seadrill

Cheap stock
National Oilwell Varco's stock price fell following its first quarter earnings, but it rebounded somewhat in the days following. The company's stock currently trades close to its 52-week high. However, it could still offer a good value at the current price due to its relatively low P/E and high dividend compared to many other potential investments. At the time of this writing, National Oilwell Varco has a P/E of 14.67 and a dividend yield of 2.30%.

Other ways to play the investment thesis
National Oilwell Varco is not the only way to play the return of the offshore drilling industry as both Cameron International and Schlumberger make equipment for offshore rigs. Cameron currently trades with a P/E of 22.79 and pays no dividend. Schlumberger trades with a P/E of 19.06 and has a dividend yield of 1.60%. As such, National Oilwell Varco looks to be the cheapest company among these options.

The best play on offshore drilling?
It rents a very specific and valuable piece of machinery for $41,000… per hour (that's almost as much as the average American makes in a year!). And Warren Buffett is so confident in its can't-live-without-it business model, he just loaded up on 8.8 million shares. An exclusive Motley Fool report explores the company we're calling OPEC's Worst Nightmare. Just click HERE … and join Buffett in his quest for a veritable LANDSLIDE of profits!